Bookbinding



July 21, 1942. G.- (B. WISER' BOOKBINDING Filed Feb. 16, 1939 INVENTOR.

IlMW KM ATTORNEY.

4 Patented July 21, 1942 'LUEN-IITED STATE-S Parent or ies BOOKBINDINGGuy Brown WViser, BeverlyHills, Calif. Application February 16,193.9,Serial No. 256,649 11 Claims. (o1..2 s1+29 This invention relatesto books, and more particularly to -means for binding books.

One'ofthe objects of the present invention is to provide a novel-durablebinding for books.

Another object of the invention is to provide a-novelbookbinding towhich a plurality of pages can be permanently attached without danger ofstraining the binding.

-A-further object is to provide a novel bookbinding havingno movableparts with exception of suitable side coversand hinges therefor.

An additional object is to provide a novel device of the above characterhaving a high rigidity.

Another object is to provide'a-rigid and strong binding for a book, thebinding having long wearing qualities which will obviate a necessity forfrequent rebinding.

Astill further object is-to provide anovel bookbinding which, byobviating a'necessity for frequent rebinding, is more economical thanother bindingsover a protracted periodof time.

An additional object is to provide a novel bookbindingincludinga rigidbackbone member having -side covers, and novel means for hingedlysecuring the covers-to the backbone member.

The above and further objects and novel features will more fully appearwhen the same is In the drawing wherein like reference characters referto like parts throughout the several views,

Fig.1 is a top plan view, partly in section and withpartsbrokenaway,illustrating one embodi- -ment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View ofa backbone memberemployed in the presentinvention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one form of sleeve member employed inthe present invention;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view, partly in section and with parts broken away,showing a sleeve memberpositioned upon a backbone member of the presentinvention; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of theinvention.

-The forms of the invention illustrated in the .accompanyingdrawing, byway of example, comprise a novel bookbinding having a backbone memberformed of any durable rigid-or semi-.55

rigidmaterial. "The backbone member is constituted by an outer strutwhichcomprises theback faceof the binding, andby :one or more innerstruts. The inner strutor strut group provides a support for a flexiblemember to whichare attached, uponseparate areas thereof, suitablesidecovers of :the binding and also a plurality of pages, i. e. the contentsof the book. Theside covers, howeve maybehingedly attached to thebackbone member proper instead of being secured to the web.

Inthe form shown-in Fig. '1, in order to provide a strong binding whichwill give adequateprotection to books, for example, school or librarybooks which are ordinarily subjected to severe treatment, anovel rigidor semi-rigid backbone mem ber I0 is provided. The latter is preferablystamped from sheet metal or formed from a suitable plastic composition.having a desired rigidity, and strength. The backbone in thisembodiment-{is constituted by a flat outer strut ll and :an inner strut12 which is substantially parallel :thereto and laterally spaced at asmall distance therefrom. The inner strut is prefer- :ably integral withthe outer strut-but may be a "separate member rigidly secured thereto.The strut I in the form illustrated, includes, for a purpose to appearlater, longitudinally extending sidefaces Ha, l'lb', having rounded orinwardly curled edges. The strut H also includes a flap l3 (Fig. 2) forretaining the free extremity of strut l2 in a desired position.

Novel flexiblemeans, having a desired toughness and durability:areprovided for association with the backbone member to which, upon onearea thereof, a front cover of the binding can be secured, upon asecondarea, a rear cover, and .upona third area, the contents of a book can beattached. The novel means in the embodiment shown comprises asleevemember M, preferably of fabric or rubber composition, having aninner sleeve :I5, which surrounds the inner strut, and an outer fabricor .sheet [6 sewn or cemented thereto which passesbetweenthe innersleeve 15 and the outerstrut'l'l. .Sheet Ifiis-provided with flaps I],[8 .comprising :areas adjacent opposite .;edges of :said sheet. To thelatter are-attached, for example,.by means of rivets or a suitable glue,va front-cover l9 and arearcover 20, respectively. The front and rear,orside covers of the .bookbinding preferably may be constituted bycomposition materialssuch as cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate,phenolicresins, casein or other syn- .thetic materials generally grouped.under the .name plastics, 'it being understood, ,however,

that cardboard, metals, or other suitable materials may be employedinstead. A plurality of pages, i. e., a filler 2| comprising thecontents of the book is attached, for example, by glue 2m, to theexposed area of the sleeve l5.

The above mentioned side faces Ha and llb, of this and the nextdescribed embodiment, are mainly for the protection of the flexiblesleeve l4 including the inner sleeve l5, and the flaps l1, l8 of sheetHi. The rounded edge of each side face provides a suitable surfaceagainst which each flap respectively may be bent, when the book isopened, without the danger of tearing, which danger would ordinarilyexist if the flaps were bent when in contact with a sharp edge orcorner. The side faces Ha, lib may be bent inwardly, if desired, to gripthe filler 2| and to prevent any lateral movement thereof relative tothe backbone element. The faces, in a manner to appear later, may beadapted for hinged engagement with the side covers l9 and 20.

As above mentioned, the distance separating struts H and I2 is small. Inorder to aid the rigidity of the backbone member and to prevent ayielding movement of strut l2, this distance is substantially equal tothe thickness of the sleeve M, which in the form shown, is the combinedthickness of inner sleeve l and sheet Hi.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, the inner sleeve l5 of sleeveI4 is one continuous piece of fabric having no edges which are sewntogether. However, one preferred embodiment of a sleeve member 14 isshown in Figs. 3 and 4 which differs therefrom in that an inner sleeveI5a, analogous to sleeve 15, is formed from a single piece of flatmaterial which is not originally formed as a sleeve. Opposite edges ofthe flat piece are sewn together in such a manner that a sufficientlytight fit will be obtained about the inner strut. The threads preferablypass through the center line of an outer fabric or sheet lfia, thussecuring the sheet to the inner sleeve l5a to prevent wrinkling or anyundesired movement thereof. As shown in Fig. 4 the stitching ispreferably positioned adjacent the longitudinal center lines of thestruts. For purposes of illustration, the distance separating the innerand outer struts in Fig. 4 is enlarged, it being understood that it ispreferable that said distance be substantially equal to the thickness ofsleeve [4.

In the previously described embodiment, a single inner strut wasemployed with which a sleeve l4 was associated, however, it is possibleto use a plurality of inner strut members, for example, three as shownin Fig. 5, which preferably are stamped from the same piece of materialand integral with the outer strut H. The three inner struts comprisemembers 22, 23 and 24. Associated with the inner struts, for a purposeanalogous to that of sleeve I4, is a web 25, which in the form shown, iswoven between said struts in such a manner that a portion of the webpasses behind member 22, in front of member 23, and behind member 24.Attached to the exposed areas of the web, which is adjacent strut 23,for example, by means of cement or by a sewn connection, are the pagesor contents 2| of the book. Web 25, if desired, may be riveted to thestruts 22, 23, and 24.

In the description of the above embodiments the term sleeve refersspecifically to a flexible member, part of which surrounds an innerstrut, and the term web refers to a flexible member which is interwovenbetween a plurality of inner struts. However, with reference to theappended claims, it is to be understood that the term flexible memberrefers to a sleeve or a web.

There is thus provided novel means for binding books, which means areextremely rugged and are adapted for lengthening the useful life of abook, and further, for enabling a book to withstand severe treatment.Although the novel binding may be initially slightly more expensive thana conventional binding, it is of great practical value because iteliminate the necessity for rebinding, and thus, over a period of timeresults in great savings, particularly to libraries and schools whereheavy expense is periodically incurred by the frequent necessity forrebinding used books in order to prolong their lives.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described in detail it is to be expressly understoodthat the same is not limited thereto, for example, instead of employinga fiat outer and inner strut, either or both may be curved or circularin cross-section. If it is desired that the web follow the curvature,for example, of a concave strut with which it is associated, it may beglued or riveted thereto. Various changes may be made in the design andarrangements of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as the same will now be understood by those skilled in theart. For a definition of the limits of the invention, reference will behad primarily to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus of the class described, an outer strut, a plurality ofinner struts, a web member in a woven association with said innerstruts, a rear cover secured to one portion of the web, and a frontcover secured to another portion of the web, the latter being adaptedfor holding a filler upon a third portion thereof.

2. In apparatus of the class described, an outer strut, an inner strut,a sleeve surrounding said inner strut, the latter having side flapsthereon, a front cover secured to one of said flaps, and a rear coversecured to another of said flaps, said sleeve being adapted for theattachment thereto of a filler.

3. In apparatus of the class described, an outer strut, an inner strut,a sleeve surrounding the inner strut, said outer' and inner struts beinglaterally spaced by an amount substantially equal to the thickness ofsaid sleeve, a front cover, the latter being secured to said sleeve, arear cover, the latter also being secured to said sleeve, and a fillersecured to the sleeve, each of said covers and the filler being securedto a separate area of the sleeve.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a backbone element including anouter strut and a, plurality of inner struts, a flexible member ininterwoven association with the inner struts, a front cover supported byone area of said member, a rear cover supported by another area of saidmember, and a filler supported upon an area of the member which isdifferent from the two above mentioned.

5. In apparatus of the class described, an outer strut, an inner strut,said struts being operatively interconnected and forming a backboneelement, a flexible member, means for holding the flexible member inoperative engagement with the inner strut, a front cover, a back cover,and a filler, each of the covers and the filler being secured upon aseparate area of the flexible member.

6. The combination with an outer and an inner strut, of a flexiblemember in operative engagement with said inner strut, a front coverattached to the member, a rear cover attached to the member, and afiller secured to said member.

7. A book binding comprising a backbone member having an inner strut, aflexible member secured to said strut, said flexible member havinportions thereof extending On two sides in front of said backbonemember, separate front and rear cover elements secured to said extendingportions of said flexible member for pivotal movement about axes infront of said backbone member, and a filler attached to a portion ofsaid flexible member.

8. A book binding comprising a backbone member, a flexible membersecured to said backbone member and having portions thereof extendingclear of said backbone member, a filler attached to said flexiblemember, and separate front and rear covers secured to said portions ofsaid flexible member.

9. A book binding comprising a backbone member having back and sidewalls and at least one inner strut, a flexible member permanentlyattached to said strut and having side portions which extend beyond theside walls of said backbone member, a binder secured to the centralportion of said flexible member, and separate front and rear coversattached to said side portions of said flexible member for pivotalmovement about axes in front of said backbone member.

10. In apparatus of the class described, a backbone member having aninner strut and side walls, a flexible sleeve surrounding said strut andhaving side flaps extending beyond said side walls, a filler attached tosaid sleeve, and separate front and rear covers secured to said flaps,said covers being located entirely in front of said backbone member forpivotal movement relative thereto.

11. The combination with a backbone element having an inner strut, of aflexible member mounted upon said strut, said flexible member havingportions thereof extending in front of said backbone element a fillerattached to said flexible member, a front cover secured to one of saidextending portions of the flexible member, and a rear cover membersecured to another of said extending portions of the flexible member,whereby said cover members are operable without engaging said backboneelement.

GUY BROWN WISER.

